Of Ghost Boys and Willow Trees
by The Nature Of Randomness
Summary: Sam Manson is mad that her family moved to the awful town of Amity Park. She refuses to come out of her room or participate in life. What will happen when she realizes that a ghost, of all things, has been spying on her? Danny/Sam AU.
1. Chapter 1

Author's Notes: Hi and welcome to my first foray into the world of writing Danny Phantom fanfiction. If you catch any major mistakes, please let me know. It's been a long time since I've seen an episode of DP, so my knowledge is a little bit rusty!

A long dotted line of sorts in the middle of a chapter indicates a POV change, which I've also labeled to help make things clearer.

Disclaimer: I do not own Danny Phantom or anything else you recognize.

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_Sam's POV._

"Leave me alone!" I yelled as I slammed the door—my door—shut. I threw myself on the bed and pulled the jet black comforter over my head. At least it was familiar; a partial antidote to the disease that was this new place. I'd have cried if I weren't so mad, but my blood was boiling in my veins and I wanted to scream until my throat was raw. I hated my new room, hated my new house, hated my new town, hated my parents, hated everything.

Less than a week ago I had been home in Virginia, in a town full of people like me. Sure, being Goth had been a bit uncommon there, but not so much that I was the only one, and a good portion of the population were ultra-recyclo-vegetarians, like me. Here, in Amity Park, it seemed that bright colors and meat were all the rage. We'd gone on a driving tour a month ago while house hunting and I'll admit I'd been a little bit impressed at first. The town had a scary-movie look to it, with weeping willows everywhere and a fog-enshrouded lake at the local park. But as the tour continued, I quickly realized that I hadn't seen one animal shelter, vegetarian restaurant, or recycling bin anywhere. I had seen a lot of barbeque joints and random litter though, and all of the teenagers I saw were dressed in either football or cheerleading uniforms. The rest of the tour was downhill from there—the more I saw of the town, the less interested in moving I became. My parents didn't care about my opinion though; we were moving no matter what. My dad had a new job offer, one where he'd make even more money than he already did, and that was that. We packed up our stuff and landed in the middle of my worst nightmare. I missed my friends and I didn't want to 'make new ones' like my dad had suggested. I just wanted to go home.

I knew whining like a spoiled brat and exiling myself to my room wasn't going to change anything, but it was all I could do. I couldn't bear to give in to my parents and do what they wanted—it wasn't in my nature. They'd always wanted me to be their pretty little girl in pink, but I wasn't interested in playing that role. I have always stayed true to myself, and moving here wasn't going to change anything. So I'd made up my mind: I wasn't going to cooperate. I was going to ignore my parents, stay in my room, and mind my own business. I wasn't going to go to a new school, wasn't going to talk to our new neighbors, wasn't going to do anything other than sit in my room in protest. I'd stay in there until I turned eighteen if I had to, and then I would move out and back home to Virginia.

After a few minutes, my anger subsided a bit and I realized that I was bored already, but there wasn't anything I could do. Our internet connection wasn't hooked up yet, and I couldn't text my friends because they were in school. I snatched a random book off my bookshelf and began reading, not really absorbing any of it. It was going to be a long day.

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_Meanwhile, across town (Danny's POV)…_

"Take that! And that! Ha-ha, gotcha!" Tucker laughed as he rapidly mashed buttons on his handheld game system.

"What are you playing?" I asked, taking a bite of my cheeseburger. It was lunchtime at Casper High, and I was bored out of my mind.

"Monsters vs. Dinosaurs Universe Battle VI Gold Edition!" he blurted, not taking his eyes off the game.

"Oh," I replied, shrugging. I hadn't even played Battle IV yet. I picked at my fries for a few minutes before I tried again. "So, have you started your history report yet?"

"Um—uh… Wha…" Tucker stammered, fingers flying. He was my best friend, but sometimes he could really get on my nerves. He loved his technology more than anything else, and right now he was lost to the real world. I gave up and tuned into the loud conversation coming from two tables over; the popular crowd.

"So, have you heard about the new family that moved in?" I heard Paulina ask.

"No," Kwan replied.

"Yeah, well they moved into my neighborhood and they're really weird," Paulina continued. "My mom dragged me over there to meet them yesterday, and they weren't very friendly. They said they have a daughter, but I never saw her. They kept yelling for her to come down and say hello, but she never showed up."

"That is, like totally weird!" Star chimed in.

"As if this town needs another freak show," Paulina replied, casting a glance toward our table. I quickly looked away and began picking at my food again.

So there was a new family in Amity Park? It had been a long time since anyone new had moved here. I wondered if they really did have a daughter and if she would be coming to school anytime soon.

"Hey Tuck..." I began, but was cut off by the loud buzzing of the bell. Lunch was over. Tucker shut off his video game and heaved his backpack over one shoulder.

"See you after school, Danny," he said, before heading out of the cafeteria. We didn't have any classes together in the afternoon. I dumped by tray in the garbage can and hurried to my next class.

The rest of the day passed quickly, and so did rumors about the new family that had moved in. By the time the dismissal bell had rung, I had heard everything from 'they're perfectly normal people who moved here from Australia' to 'they're famous movie stars whose teen daughter is pregnant and they moved here to keep it a secret'. Even some of the teachers got in on the gossiping. Thankfully, Mr. Lancer helped calm the rumor mill down when he said the girl would be coming to class the next day. I couldn't imagine what the truth would turn out to be, but I knew I'd find out soon…

_The following week (still Danny's POV)…_

…or not. Last week had passed quickly, and the new girl still hadn't shown up. The rumors, however, had grown; now the family was made up of super-secret spies who had moved here as part of the Witness Protection Program, and the daughter was expecting triplets.

On Friday, I couldn't take it anymore. As we were walking toward my house after school, I brought it up to Tucker.

"Hey, do you want to go try to meet the new family everyone's been talking about?" I asked him.

"Why?" he asked.

"I don't know. Haven't you heard all the rumors? I just wonder what's really going on," I replied.

"Since when do you care about rumors?" Tuck asked.

"I don't know… What if they're up to something ghost-related?" I asked, hoping to hook him.

"Has your ghost-sense been going off or something?" he asked.

"No, but…" I stammered. Really, I had no logical reason to be so interested in this new family. I just couldn't help but wonder what they were like, or if they even existed at all. Maybe they were just a figment of Paulina's imagination. "I guess I just want to see what they're like. So do you want to go?"

"I don't know. I still have to do my history report, and I'd really like to finish Monsters vs. Dinosaurs Universe Battle VI Gold Edition today," Tuck said.

"Okay, okay. Fine, let's just go to my house," I gave in. We continued walking in silence.

Tucker hung out for about an hour before he decided to go home. He said I was being boring, but really I was just preoccupied with making plans. I'd made up my mind; as soon as it was dark, I was going to go ghost and fly around until I found the new family's house. I had a pretty good idea of where it was—according to Paulina, it was three houses down from hers on the left. I'd just take a quick look to satisfy my curiosity and get out. No harm done.

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Please review and let me know what you think! Thanks. Future chapters should be longer. By the way, does anyone know what an ultra-recyclo-vegetarian actually is? I'm a vegetarian and I like recycling, so does that make me one? :) Anyway, the next chapter should be up soon!


	2. Chapter 2

Hi and welcome to chapter two! A big "thanks" to everyone who reviewed chapter one. I appreciate it! :)

Disclaimer: I don't own Danny Phantom.

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_Danny's POV_

The wind was whistling as I flew through Paulina's neighborhood. It had begun sprinkling a little bit, and I was glad not to feel it in ghost form. The weatherman had said it was supposed to be nice all week, but he was never very accurate, so I really wasn't surprised.

After a few minutes, I came to Paulina's house. I was tempted to take a detour from my plan and stop to look in on her for a second, but decided against it. I was tired as it was and I didn't want to be out too late, besides, I wasn't the type to spy on people, even if it was the hottest girl in school. I pushed it out of my mind that I was getting ready to spy on the new family, and kept flying until I came to the house that they had supposedly moved into.

It was nice, _really_ nice, and big too. Three stories, brick, with a huge front porch and a garage that looked like it could probably hold a whole fleet of cars. Maybe they really were rich movie stars exiled to Amity Park. I didn't know where to start, so I made myself invisible, flew up to the nearest window and peered in. It was an empty kitchen. I continued going window-to-window, but it seemed like no one was home. All of the lights were on, but the living room was empty, the dining room was empty; they even had an empty theater room that was bigger than my whole house!

Finally, I moved on to the second floor and, after discovering three empty bedrooms, finally found someone in a room in the western corner of the house. A large, sorrowful-looking weeping willow grew next to the window, casting an eerie shadow across the brick. I quickly took advantage of it and sat on a limb to look in the window. Inside was a girl who looked to be about my age, sitting on a massive bed in the middle of the messy room. She was dressed all in black, as though she were about to attend a funeral, and her dark hair hung in a limp mess around her shoulders. She had bruise-colored bags under sunken violet eyes, and her skin was almost as pale as mine. I couldn't help but think that she looked sick. She was talking on a phone, but the rain had picked up and I could only make out a word here and there:

"No….sucks….home," she was saying. "Stupid…"

Acting on impulse alone, I left my perch and phased into her room, careful to stay invisible.

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_Sam's POV_

I was sitting in bed, clutching the phone as if it were my lifeline, and I couldn't help but feel pathetic. Here I was, Sam Manson, strong, outspoken Goth girl, and I was almost in tears trying to tell my best friend what I'd been up to since moving to this new town. I hadn't been able to call her sooner because my parents had been so slow about getting someone to set up our TV, Internet, and phone services, and the days had gone by at a snail's pace. If I could have talked to her just last week, I still would have been mad, able to fume and rant like my normal self. But the second week had done me in; now I was just desperately sad and feeling more alone than I'd ever felt before. I was still holed up in my room, fighting a war I'd probably never win. At least staying in my room for two weeks straight had convinced my parents to let me go to a virtual school; they were determined that I wasn't going to fail or be a ninth grade drop out.

"I hate it here!" I said again.

"I know," Mac said. "And I hate it here without you." Mackenzie Miller had been my best friend since we'd met each other in middle school. We had a lot in common; we were both vegetarians, eco-conscious, Goth, better at English than math, and we both hated organized sports. It was harder being away from her than I would have imagined.

"You know, my parents haven't even been home for more than two hours at a time since we moved in. I'm starting to think they moved here just because the rich-snob party scene is bigger here than at home," I said sarcastically.

"How do you know that if you never leave your room?" Mac asked. I could hear the smile in her voice, but it didn't cheer me up.

"I'm not deaf—the door slams," I said, rolling my eyes. "Actually my mom makes a point of inviting me every time they go somewhere. Last week she kept yelling that some stupid girl named Paulina wanted me to come down and meet her."

"Oh," Mac said. "Did you?"

"No, but I did look out my window as she was leaving, and I saw this girl wearing a pink shirt that showed her stomach. It made me want to throw up. I'm serious, everyone here is like that. This town sucks," I complained.

"Sorry Sam," she said.

"Me too," I replied. I felt our conversation coming to an end, and the urge to cry suddenly felt stronger than ever.

"Well, I guess I'm gonna go for now," Mac said. "I'm going to dinner with Brian, Wendy and Dee."

"Where are you going?" I asked, already knowing the answer.

"Uh… Blue Highway… Sorry Sam," she said again, her voice soft. It was my favorite restaurant; they made the best buffalo tempeh wings on Earth.

"Have fun," I managed, trying my best to suck it up.

"Thanks. Cheer up Sam, maybe it'll get better soon," Mac replied. "You never know."

"Yeah," I said.

"I'll eat a tempeh wing for you!"

"Great. Tell everyone else I said hi," I said.

"I will. Okay, bye for now," she said.

I couldn't bring myself to reply, so I just hung up the phone. The tears wouldn't wait any longer; they slid down my face, gaining momentum as they went. I'll admit that it felt good to cry, shameful as it was. I was just glad that no one could see me as I held my knees and sobbed, alone in my still foreign-feeling bedroom.

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_Danny's POV_

The next day at school, I still felt depressed about what I'd seen in the new family's house. I hadn't been able to sleep much the night before for worrying about the strange, dark-clothed girl. After she got off the phone, she had cried for almost half an hour, and then fell into a fitful sleep. I had stayed for another hour before I could bring myself to leave. I'd managed to gather that she was upset about moving here from wherever they'd come from, but that was it. I still didn't know what was wrong with her, or why she hadn't come to school yet.

At lunch, I brought it up to Tucker.

"I went over to check out the new family last night," I admitted as we got our trays. Today was overcooked spaghetti with meatballs, salad and garlic bread.

"You did? So they do exist. I knew it! Did they talk to you?" he asked.

"No… Actually, I just looked in the window," I said.

"As _you_ you, or as…" Tucker trailed off. We made our way to our usual table and sat down.

"Phantom," I said. "It made it easier."

"You spied on them?" he asked, but I could tell that he really wasn't mad.

"I guess you could put it that way," I replied.

"So what was the house like?" he asked.

"It was big and really nice," I said. "I'm pretty sure they are rich, but that's probably the only rumor that's true."

"Why? What did you find out?" he asked, opening his spork.

"Not much. Actually, there was only one person home—a girl who looked about our age," I replied.

"Did this girl look like she was expecting triplets?" Tucker asked, and something about the way he said it made me laugh.

"No, but maybe it was just too early to tell," I replied, grinning for a second. Then I controlled my face. "Seriously, she looked sick or something. She was wearing solid black, and her eyes were all sunken in. She was on the phone with someone for awhile, complaining about how awful it is here, and then she cried for a really long time. I think there's probably something wrong with her."

"Hmm…" Tucker said, taking a bite of his garlic bread. "You mean like cancer or something?"

"I really don't know, but I think we should go over there after school today and try to meet her," I said. "Maybe we can find out more and try to help her or something."

"I don't know, I still have to finish that history report," he replied.

"Come on, Tuck," I said. "Since when have you cared so much about schoolwork?"

"Good point," he replied. "I'll go."

"Thanks," I said. We continued eating lunch in near silence, only broken by the occasional chime of Tucker's phone getting a new text message.

_After school (Still Danny's POV) _

The new family's hours looked even bigger as we approached from the ground than it had when I'd flown to it. Tucker looked up in awe as we made our way across the porch to the elaborately carved front door.

"Wow," he said.

"I know. You should see the theater room," I replied, smiling. Tucker stopped and looked at me. "What?"

"I thought you just looked in a window," he said, raising an eyebrow.

"Well, at first I did, but then… I mean, I did just look at the theater room through the window…but…" I trailed off, feeling my cheeks go warm. Tucker shook his head in disgust, but after a second he smiled, and I felt a little bit better.

"You can ring the doorbell," he told me. I reached out and pressed the button, and a deep chime resonated from somewhere inside. We stood there for a full minute, but no one came to the door. I pressed the doorbell again; still, nothing.

"Oh well," I said. "I guess no one is going to answer. The girl did say that her parents go to parties a lot, and I don't think she would answer the door herself."

"Told you this would be a waste of time. Let's go to my house and you can watch me play some more Monsters vs. Dinosaurs Universe Battle VI Gold Edition," Tucker said.

"That's alright, you go. I think I might stick around for awhile and see if anyone ever does come home," I answered.

"You mean…"

"More spying," I replied.

"Have fun," Tucker shook his head again.

"You too," I called, as he began walking back toward the street. A second later, I went ghost, turned invisible and flew back up to the window under the willow tree.

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Please review and let me know what you think! Thanks.


	3. Chapter 3

Hi and welcome to chapter three! A big thanks to Danni99981, Megan 360, youngarteest8, turkehead987, and KateT101 for your reviews of chapter 2!

To Megan 360: To answer your question, buffalo tempeh wings are vegetarian. They're basically boiled tempeh (which is made from soybeans but has a very different texture than tofu) rolled in breadcrumbs and a hot sauce mixture, then baked. They get their name because once cooked they look a lot like buffalo chicken wings, but they taste very different. They're really good! If you do an Internet search for 'buffalo tempeh wings' a bunch of recipes with pics will come up if you'd like to get a better idea.

To youngarteest8: Thanks for your reviews. You'll probably get to see Sam go to Casper High sooner or later. :)

Disclaimer: I don't own Danny Phantom.

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_Danny's POV_

"Huh?" I asked, aware that Tucker had said _something_, but I had no idea what. I was so tired, and my desk was so comfortable.

"…Teacher's looking…almost…collecting…hand it…come on…now…" he repeated. I caught a word here and there, but still couldn't quite make sense of what he was saying. I was so warm that it almost felt like I was floating in the ocean. Everything was dark.

"Dude, wake up!" Tucker yelled right in my ear, the offending noise shocking me awake like a fire alarm.

"Yeah? What?" I asked, sitting up straight, my heart beating fast. Was there a ghost? Did I have a Fenton thermos with me?

"Hand in your history report!" he yelled, grabbing at the crumpled sheet of paper I had clutched in my hands.

"Oh…" I took a few deep breaths and let go of the paper, which he added to the towering stack in his arms. We were in history class, and the big reports were due. I had only written half a page, but in the end, I guess anything is better than nothing. I stretched and tried to wake myself the rest of the way up; the last thing I needed was to get another detention for sleeping in class. But I was just so _tired_. I'd been spending half the night watching that new girl almost every night for the past month now, and the lack of sleep was finally catching up with me. She had started staying up later and later, and I had got in the unfortunate habit of not leaving until she was asleep—something that seemed to be getting harder for her to do as the days passed.

Despite the fact that I'd spent many hours watching her, I still didn't know much about her, and I didn't fully understand why I kept going back to look in on her. I guess there was just something about her that bothered me and made me curious. She still hit me as ill-looking, and her attitude was really negative. She had talked on the phone quite a bit the first few times I'd spied on her, but as the weeks had passed, she used it less and less often, cutting off my best source of any information about her. Now, most of the time she just sat silently in bed, staring blankly at the walls or watching random shows on television. I had learned that her name was Sam the one time her parents came home for awhile while I was there. They seemed to be just what she had described them as: rich snobs. Sometimes Sam sat at her computer, and after awhile I figured out that she was doing schoolwork, which explained why she hadn't come to school. She also spent a lot of time writing in a little black notebook. Part of me wondered if it could be her journal, and I kind of wanted to phase in and read it, but I didn't. I'd quickly made it my policy to stay outside in the weeping willow and not go poking around inside again; it just felt kind of wrong to keep doing that.

When the history teacher began talking again, I pulled myself from my thoughts and somehow managed to stay halfway awake throughout the rest of history class. Then I decided to go see the nurse and see if she would let me go home.

"Danny Fenton," Nurse Malone greeted as I walked in the school's clinic. She was a cheerful older lady with a head full of grey curls and a kind, motherly smile.

"Hi," I said, thankful that she was working today and not Nurse Gaines, who wouldn't let anyone go home for anything shy of a broken leg or the black plague.

"So, have you just dropped in to say hello, or are you feeling sick today?" she asked.

"I'm sick," I said, doing my best to look it.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

"Well, I kind of have a headache, I'm tired, and I feel sore all over," I replied, which was technically the truth.

"Hmm…sounds like you might have the flu—it is that time of year after all. Did you get your shot?" she asked.

"No," I replied, hoping that she wouldn't check my file and see that I was lying. My sister, Jazz, was big into preventative measures and had personally dragged me to the doctor to get my flu shot just a few short weeks ago.

"That's probably what it is then, you poor thing. Let me take your temperature and then we'll call someone to come get you," Nurse Malone cooed.

"Okay," I replied. She stuck the cold metal thermometer under my tongue, and half a minute later it beeped.

"Normal," she said, taking it from my mouth. "Still, if you're not feeling well you probably shouldn't be at school. Who should I call to come pick you up?"

"Actually I usually walk to and from school—my parents work really weird hours," I replied, hardly able to contain my joy. I'd get to go home and sleep for the rest of the day!

"Well, okay, if you're sure. I'll sign you out. Go home and get some rest for now, and make sure you drink plenty of fluids. When your parents get home, you be sure to tell them that you need to go to the doctor's office and get a flu test," she instructed, beginning to type something into the computer on her desk.

"Okay," I replied. "I will."

"Good. Alright, I signed you out for the day at 10 a.m., so you're good to go now. I hope you feel better soon, Danny," she said.

"Thank you," I answered. "Bye."

"Goodbye dear," she replied as I walked out the clinic's door, free as a bird. An _exhausted_ bird.

Halfway to my house, a totally new thought invaded my mind. I'd only ever looked in on Sam after school and at night. What did she do during the day? Did she just sit in bed, staring at the walls? Or did she get up and walk around her house? Maybe watch a movie in that awesome theater room? Or even go outside and do something? I really doubted it, but at the same time I realized that today might be the only chance I'd get to see if she actually did do something different while I was spending my days in school. My exhaustion lifted and quickly turned into excitement as the thought took over. Seconds later I went ghost and turned invisible, quickly flying toward Paulina and Sam's neighborhood.

I settled on my willow branch and looked in the window. To my disappointment, Sam wasn't doing anything out of the ordinary at all. She was still in her room, in bed, and she appeared to be sleeping. The sight of her nestled under the covers made me remember just how tired I was, and the sleepiness was suddenly back on me, stronger even than before. I didn't know if I could make it home, I was just so tired…

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_Sam's POV_

I woke up and looked at the clock next to my bed, surprised to see that it was already past lunchtime. I hadn't meant to sleep in so late; I was just really bored and didn't have much else to do other than sleep or stare at the TV or computer all day. My online school certainly wasn't much of a distraction, in fact, it seemed to be a joke; the little work that we did do was easy and everyone in the class got high As on every single assignment. I'd looked it up online and was shocked to discover that it was, in fact, accredited, though I couldn't imagine how it had ever been qualified. I'd also tried emailing back and forth with a few of my "classmates," but no friendships had taken off; the kids online seemed almost as awful as the kids in Amity Park; very shallow and unmotivated.

In addition to all of that, my friendship with Mac seemed to be fading. Everything in her life was going so well, and everything in mine was going downhill. At first, I had really missed her and wanted to talk to her like old times, but then she'd go on and on about all the awesome stuff she was up to and after awhile it made me feel sad and ashamed when I had nothing new to report back. Eventually, our conversations had ended up being one-sided; she'd talk and I'd make myself grunt out some kind of half-baked reply once in the great while. It got so bad that sometimes I didn't feel like talking to her all, so I just wouldn't answer my phone when she called. When she realized that I was ignoring her, she called me less and less often, and now that I'd been in Amity for just over a month and a half, it seemed that she had quit calling me altogether. Realizing that I had probably lost my best friend forever really hurt, so most of the time I tried not to think about it, but sometimes I was almost happy about it because at least I didn't have to hear how wonderful things back in Virginia were going. Of course, thinking about what an awful person I am to feel that way just made me feel even more crappy. What kind of person is glad to lose their best friend?

Mercifully, my stomach growled then and interrupted me from my downward-spiraling thoughts. I decided to go down to the kitchen and find some lunch. I had decided when we first moved in that it was okay for me to leave my bedroom for two things: food and the bathroom, just not when my parents were home. It had worked out fine so far.

I scrounged around in the fridge until I found some hummus and a piece of pita bread, then I made myself a sandwich and got an apple and a glass of ice water. I sat at the kitchen table to eat, not worried in the least that my mom and dad might show up—they were going to a private jet show, so I knew they'd be there for a billion more hours trying to find a pollution machine that tickled their fancies so much that they'd be willing to waste a few kabillion dollars on it. It felt really good to be out of my room for a few minutes, though when I finished up my meal I headed straight back to my room. I wasn't about to give in and start getting cozy with the rest of the house.

Feeling full, I stretched out on my bed to digest a little. I was just starting to drift off for an unneeded afternoon nap when the wind picked up outside and made me jump back awake. I repositioned my pillows and turned over onto my side to look out the window. Chills went down my spine at what I saw. Someone…or _something_ was sitting in a branch of the willow tree right outside my window.

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Yeah, a cliffhanger. Don't worry though—I seem to be on a roll with this fic, so the next update shouldn't be more than a few days away! Thanks again for your reviews!


	4. Chapter 4

Hello and welcome to the next chapter! I found out how to use this site's awesome line breaks, so no more awkward dotted line! Yay!

Disclaimer: I don't own Danny Phantom or anything else you recognize.

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_Danny's POV_

I jumped awake, shocked from my slumber by a loud noise. I wasn't sure if it had been thunder or something else, but whatever it was had caused my ears to ring. I rubbed them, trying to clear up the stuffy feeling. At least I felt a little bit less tired now.

"Hey!" came the noise again, this time distinguishable as a human voice. Wait—who was yelling in my bedroom? It didn't sound like Jazz. I blinked my eyes a few times, trying to focus as I remembered where I was. The hard wood below me did the trick—I was half-lying on a branch, slumped against the thick trunk of the willow tree just outside Sam's window.

I sat up straight and looked into her room, alarmed by what I saw. Sam was standing at her window, eyes looking straight at me! She had one hand on the windowsill, her posture tense. I gasped, and then clamped my mouth shut, hoping that she hadn't heard. She couldn't be looking at me—I was always careful to stay invisible when I was spying on her. I relaxed against the tree again as I realized that she must just be looking out the window.

"Hey," she said again, this time a bit quieter. Was she talking to herself? "Can you hear me?" The way she seemed to be looking at me gave me the creeps, so I decided it was time to leave for the day. I stood up on the branch and prepared to fly away, when Sam spoke again, "Don't leave. Are you a…a ghost?"

"Huh?" I said stupidly, shocked into speech by the mention of the word 'ghost'. "You can see me?" I looked down at myself and quickly realized two things—I wasn't invisible, and Sam definitely could see me. And now I'd gone and talked to her! A well of panic began to rise within me as I wondered how I had gone visible in the first place—I must have drifted into a deep sleep at some point during my nap and lost control of myself. Thank goodness I hadn't reverted back to my human form at least!

"Obviously. What are you doing outside my window?" she asked. Her voice wasn't harsh, but she didn't exactly sound scared either.

"Uh…nothing," I muttered. What could I say?_ Oh, you know, just dropping by to spy on you for awhile! So, how's it going?_

"Are you a ghost?" she asked again.

"Uh…yeah?" I replied, hoping my brain would kick into gear at any minute and come up with something brilliant to say that could explain all this away. She looked at me silently for a moment before going on.

"What are you doing in my tree?" she asked, rephrasing her earlier question.

"Napping," I replied, still feeling like an idiot.

"Ghosts nap?" she asked, and I thought I heard a hint of laughter in her voice, but it was probably just sarcasm, or maybe even fear. I hadn't heard Sam laugh once the whole time I'd been watching her.

"I was tired," I said.

"Of course," she said. "And since this is just a dream, I think I'll invite you into my room. You can resume your nap in here, if you want," she offered, her violet eyes contrasting harshly against the dark bags under them.

"Dream?" I asked, echoing her words. Was Sam actually inviting me into her room? Did she really think she was just dreaming? Maybe this was the get-out-of-jail-free card I was looking for! I could just fly away now and let her think I was the product of a crazy dream.

"Well, now that you mention it…" she pinched herself on the arm. "I don't really think this is a dream. I just don't know what to think."

"Me either," I replied honestly. If she didn't really think she was dreaming, why wasn't she afraid? What should I do? Why hadn't I left when I had the chance?

"Ghosts aren't real," she said, her voice almost a whisper.

"I should go…" I stuttered.

"You don't have to," she said, seeming to come out of a daze. She began talking quickly. "I just wanted to know what you were doing. Was this your old house? Were you just coming by to see how it's being treated? Or do you haunt it or something? A haunted house in this boring old town! I haven't really thought of this house as being old or creepy, but I haven't been out of my room much, so…" she trailed off.

"No, I didn't live here and I don't haunt anything," I said. Then I winced at my stupidity. She'd just given me the perfect excuse to be sitting in her tree and I hadn't even realized it!

"What, are you Casper the friendly ghost or something?" she asked, beginning to look a little more sure of herself.

"No," I replied.

"You weren't sitting there, planning to come in and kill me or possess me then, were you? Can you even do that?" she asked.

"Uh…no. Well, yes. I mean…" I stuttered. It was so strange to actually be talking to this girl that I had been watching for weeks now. It almost didn't feel real.

"Which one?" she asked, her eyes widening a bit.

"No, I wasn't going to kill you or anything like that," I replied. "Yes to the second half of that question—I could over take over someone's body if I wanted to."

"Don't you want to?" she asked. "You're like that headless horse guy, except out to get a whole new body or something, right?"

"No!" I yelled, really wishing that I had left. "I was just taking a nap. Your tree is…comfortable."

"Comfortable?" she asked, raising an eyebrow. "It doesn't look very comfortable."

"Well it is. Look, I'll just leave now. I'm sorry that I bothered you," I held up both hands in a defensive gesture.

"No, you don't have to go," she said again, suddenly looking sad. What was wrong with her? I just looked at her, feeling more confused by the second. Suddenly, she extended her hand. "I'm Sam. It's short for Samantha, but hardly anyone calls me that."

"Er…Danny," I said, offering my hand in return. "Short for Daniel, but no one calls me that." The corners of her lips turned up a bit as she tried to grip my hand, surprised when hers just passed through.

"I guess that's not going to work," she said.

"Oh, hold on," I replied, pausing to make my hand more solid. "Try again." I extended my hand again, and this time she shook it for a few seconds before letting go.

"That's weird," she said. "The way you can be…solid or not?"

"Intangibility," I offered. She nodded.

"And you're cold," she said.

"Yeah," I replied.

"Do you feel cold, like to yourself, or…"

"A little bit," I said, which was true.

"Come in?" she offered again, stepping back from the windowsill, and I still didn't know what to say.

"Really?" I asked.

"Yeah," she said. "As long as you're sure you're not going to possess me or something."

"Okay," I agreed after a minute. I floated through the window and came to rest next to her on the plush carpet.

* * *

_Sam's POV_

I had a _ghost_ in my room, standing next to my windowsill, and I didn't know what to think. I knew I wasn't dreaming—everything felt too real to be a dream, but half of me thought I must be hallucinating. I remembered reading somewhere that a lack of human contact will eventually lead to insanity; I just thought it would take a lot longer than a month and a half to set in. The other half of me hoped that I wasn't imagining him. That part of me thought it was kind of…neat that I had a ghost standing in my room. I'd always been interested in the paranormal, and I'd read plenty of novels about ghosts; now here was my chance to actually talk to one. I just never would have suspected Amity Park of being haunted, not even in my wildest dreams.

On that thought, it was stranger still that this did not appear to be the ghost of a football star or bodybuilding prep. The ghost…Danny, looked more like the skinny, nerdy type. After all, he was wearing what appeared to be a black laboratory hazmat suit, and his white hair had an Einstein-esque look about it that made his green eyes stand out. He looked young, probably around my age.

"How old are you?" I blurted, unable to control the verbal diarrhea that I seemed to have picked up after seeing him in my tree.

"Uh, fourteen," he replied, looking nervous. The _ghost_ looked nervous!

"Fourteen? Really or is that how old you were when…" I clamped my mouth shut, alarmed by what had almost come out. What kind of question is that to ask someone?

"When what?" he asked, looking confused. A second passed, and I was unsure of what to say, but then he seemed to get what I was asking and went on, "Oh. Oh. Uh, no. I'm really fourteen. You?"

"I'm fourteen too," I replied.

"Oh. Do you have cancer?" he asked suddenly.

"What?" the question alarmed me. "No. Why? You're not the ghost of death or something, are you, here to bring me bad news?"

"No…" he replied, though it looked as if he were considering the idea.

"Good. Then why'd you ask me something like that?" I asked.

"I…I don't know," he stammered. "You just don't look so good." He visibly cringed as he spoke.

"You're not exactly Mr. Hotstuff yourself, you know!" I couldn't help but retort. Who was he to tell me that I looked bad? Anger flared within me, and I no longer cared that he was a ghost and could possibly hurt me if he got mad.

"No—I, I didn't mean it like that!" he said. "It's just… Never mind. Sorry."

"Good," I replied, my anger dying down a bit.

"It's just the dark circles under your eyes, and you sleep a lot, and…"

"What did you say?" I asked, mad again. "I sleep a lot? How do you know what I do?"

"Um…well…" he mumbled.

"Have you been watching me?" I asked, furious. All those times I'd changed clothes in my bedroom, the private stuff I wrote in my journal, the conversations with Mac… A ghost had been watching all of that?

"Kind of…" he took a step back and put his hands up again.

"Why?" I asked, almost hoping he'd have some kind of valid reason so I wouldn't have to try out my hand-to-hand combat skills on a paranormal being.

"I don't know. I heard about your family moving in and I guess I just wanted to see what you were like," he replied. His voice sounded pleading, and a new thought formed in my mind: what if he's just as lonely as I am? I certainly hadn't seen any other ghosts around, and what human in their right mind would befriend a ghost? The way he'd asked me if I could see him earlier made me wonder if maybe most people couldn't. Maybe I was the only one who could see him. A sudden surge of sympathy came over me and I didn't know what to say.

"Oh," I finally replied after a minute.

"I'm sorry," he said again.

"It's okay," I replied. "So…you've been watching me for quite a while now?"

"Uh…I guess so," he said, looking guilty.

"How did you come up with the conclusion that I have cancer?" I asked.

"Why don't you ever leave your room?" he asked, avoiding my question.

"None of your business," I snapped, feeling a bit defensive again. "I mean… I don't know. I just don't like this town."

"How do you know, if you've never even set foot outside since you moved in?" he asked.

"Trust me, I know," I replied.

"Okay," he said.

"Did you live here, or did you come here from somewhere else?" I asked, curious.

"I live here," he replied.

"Did you like it?" I asked.

"I guess so. It's alright," he said.

"Are you the only ghost in Amity Park?" I asked.

"Uh…kind of," he said. "Ghosts are usually only in the ghost zone, but once in the while one gets out and then…"

"Then what?" I asked.

"I don't know. They have to go back," he said.

"But not you?" I asked. "What is the ghost zone?"

"Are we playing Twenty Questions or something?" he asked, beginning to look annoyed.

"No," I said.

"Seems like it. Anyway, it's getting late. I actually need to go now," he said, slowly inching toward the window.

"Can you come back?" I asked.

"Um, maybe. I don't know…" he replied.

"Please?" I asked, feeling pathetic, but I was so lonely and he was kind of interesting, in a ghostly, creepy, and apparently stalkerish way.

"Well, I—I guess so," he said.

"Tomorrow?" I asked.

"Okay," he replied.

"Bye Danny," I said.

"Bye." He looked at me for a minute, and then _flew_ out my window. I looked out and watching him go soaring into the distance. Another chill ran down my spine at the sight of him, though this time not necessarily from fear. Maybe I'd finally found the one person—ghost—worth getting to know in this horrible town.

... … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … …

_Danny's POV_

When I landed in my room and changed back to human form, my heart was racing a million miles an hour. I'd got to meet Sam! And I'd made a complete idiot out of myself: I admitted that I had been spying on her _and_ I asked her inappropriate questions. _Do you have cancer?_ Come on!

But she wanted me to come back. I didn't know if I should or not, but I'd said I would, so I would definitely think about it. First, I had to decide what to tell her. I certainly couldn't admit that I was a halfa. I knew she wouldn't tell anyone, but still…I couldn't take that chance. As far as everyone in the world apart from Tucker and me knew, there was no such thing as a ghost-human hybrid. At least if it leaked that a ghost had been visiting Sam, it wouldn't blow my cover. Some people believed in ghosts, after all, just look at my parents. A ghost sighting wouldn't bring any extra suspicions on me or the town, but talk of a half-ghost would.

I sat down on my bed and went over the events of the day, silently mulling over what to tell her and making sure I would have my story straight in case I did go back to see her again. I'd started the day exhausted, but now I was wide awake and practically a nervous wreck. I sighed. It had been a hard, exciting day.

* * *

Please review. I hope you don't think Sam and Danny were too out of character even for my AU in this chapter. I wanted them to be friends, but at the same time I know Sam probably wouldn't take too kindly to a ghost spying on her. I hope it was okay. Ugh, I had a hard time with this chapter. Hopefully the next few will be easier to write! Thanks again to all of my reviewers so far! :)


	5. Chapter 5

Welcome to chapter 5! Thanks for all of the feedback on chapter 4.

A/N: Since this is an AU and I'm not following the show's timeline/events, please don't be bothered by the ghost powers Danny says he has or those not mentioned at all. For my story, I'm going to say that he's had his ghost powers for about 8 months, and the abilities he says he has are the only ones he knows he has at this point. Does that make sense? :) Also, this fic focuses primarily on Danny and Sam's relationship, so there will probably be very little to no ghost fighting, though it may be mentioned here and there and from time to time. Of course, anything is subject to change…

Disclaimer: I don't own Danny Phantom or anything else you recognize.

* * *

_The next day at school (Danny's POV)_

I'd finally made up my mind last night that I would go back and visit Sam. After all, I'd been spying on her for over six weeks, and now I had the chance to actually get to know her and find out what was going on. I was just nervous about talking to her again, and worried that I might slip up somehow and blow my cover. Besides that, I wasn't exactly sure how to get to know someone just as Danny Phantom. Sure, I spent time around Tucker while in ghost form, but he knew the truth about me. I talked to everyone else as Danny Fenton. I knew I'd have to be careful about what I said to her, or things could end up bad.

So far, the day had been inching by at a snail's pace. By the time the lunch bell rang, it felt like half an eternity had passed since I'd left home that morning. I walked toward the cafeteria with Tucker, still going over my plans for that afternoon.

"Alright! Beef stew!" Tucker exclaimed upon seeing the menu for the day.

"Ugh," I said. "How can you eat that?" It was the worst meal that our cafeteria served. The cook always made it very watery, the vegetables were as hard as rocks, and the beef somehow managed to be both too fatty and too dry at the same time.

"It's good," he replied, reaching to take two bowls. I took one out of necessity—there were no other entrée options listed.

"No it's not," I argued as we made our way to our usual seats.

"Well, if you're not going to eat yours…" he trailed off, beginning to reach for my bowl.

"Stop," I said, jerking it out of the way. "I'm hungry enough to eat it anyway."

"You love it," he teased. I just shook my head.

We sat down and ate in silence for a few minutes, until I got brave enough to bring up what had happened the day before. I wanted to see if Tucker had any brilliant advice or ideas for what to do and what I should and shouldn't tell Sam.

"I talked to Sam yesterday," I said.

"You talked to her!" he asked. "How did that happen?"

"Well, I guess I fell asleep in her tree and accidentally became visible," I explained. "She saw me."

"Uh-oh," he said.

"Yeah," I agreed, before going on to tell him about the rest of our encounter and how I'd told her that I would come back and talk to her again. He didn't look surprised when I finished, just a little worried.

"I don't think you should go back," he said.

"Why not? I told her I would," I said. "And I'm still kind of worried about her. There has to be something wrong with her. She said she won't come out of her room because she doesn't like Amity Park—but I don't think that's all there is to it."

"It seems kind of suspicious to me," he replied.

"Suspicious?" I asked. "What do you mean?"

"I don't know. What if it's some kind of trap? Maybe she's a ghost hunter, and she wants to capture you for experiments…"

"Tuck?" I interrupted.

"What?" he asked.

"I don't think so," I said.

"Why not? Something like that happened in this movie, Attack of the Next-Door-Neighbor Ghost Bounty Hunter. Didn't you see it? This ghost…"

"Tuck?" I cut him off again.

"What?"

"This isn't a movie, and I'm going back," I said. If it didn't do anything else, at least talking to him was helping strengthen my resolve.

"Whatever dude. I just don't think it's a good idea," he said dismissively, and I decided that I didn't want to talk to him about it anymore.

"Did you ever finish that video game you were playing?" I asked, trying to change the subject.

"What? Oh, Monsters vs. Dinosaurs Universe Battle VI Gold Edition?" he asked.

"Yeah," I replied.

"Yup, I finished it a few days ago. The ending was epic! I can't wait for the next one to come out…" he paused. "Are you sure you're going to eat your beef stew?"

"Take it," I said, annoyed. He eagerly snatched the half-full bowl off my tray and began eating. Tucker was my best friend, but sometimes he really irritated me. I wished I had someone more serious to talk to sometimes. There was Jazz, of course, but she didn't know about my ghost powers so I couldn't talk to her about anything involving them. She was also just a little bit _too_ serious, and sometimes I felt like if I tried to talk to her about anything personal, she just might psychoanalyze me right into the mental ward she volunteered at.

"Yours is good!" Tucker announced between bites. "Better than mine!" The bowl was empty in a matter of seconds.

"Good," I replied, half-heartedly.

"Hey, have you seen this new app for my phone?" he asked, grabbing his high-tech cell phone out of his pocket and opening it up.

"I don't know. What is it?" I asked.

"Well…" he began, but was cut off by the end-of-lunch bell. "I guess I'll show you some other time."

"Okay. See you later Tuck," I said, standing up.

"Do you want to hang out after school today?" he asked.

"Not today… I told you, I'm going back over to Sam's," I replied.

"I still think that's a bad idea," he said.

"I hope not," I shrugged.

"See you tomorrow then," he said, looking a little hurt.

"Alright," I said, feeling bad. "Hey, we'll have to go to Nasty Burger over the weekend."

"Okay, sounds good. See ya," he said.

We left the cafeteria and went our separate ways to our afternoon classes. I was still nervous about talking to Sam again.

* * *

_Later (Sam's POV)_

It was nearing 3 o'clock and Danny still hadn't shown up. I was sitting in bed, watching the tail end of a good movie about a group of escaped prisoners and trying not to get my hopes up that he would ever show up. I'd actually cleaned up my room that morning just in case—the thought that he'd been watching me made me feel a tiny bit embarrassed by the state of disorder it had fallen into. I had also taken a good long shower and brushed out my hair. It wasn't that I was trying to look good or anything, I'd just needed to clean up. Him telling me I that looked bad had nothing to do with it whatsoever.

A small part of me felt like a giddy little kid waiting for company to arrive; it was a lot like the feeling I got back in Virginia when my grandmother would come to visit for a few days. I was sad that she probably wouldn't ever be able to come visit us here in Amity Park—the ride would just be too hard on her. Yet another reason to hate this town.

I'd been thinking about what to talk to Danny about if he showed up again, but so far I hadn't had many ideas. What do you say to a ghost? What don't you say? What don't you ask? I felt pretty sure that the death question I'd almost asked yesterday was inappropriate. What else would probably be off limits? I didn't really know.

"Sam?" came a soft voice. I looked up and almost jumped. I'd been expecting him, but it still took me by surprise to see a real ghost outside my window. I stood up and walked over to the window, opening it quickly.

"Hi," I said. "Come in."

"Okay," he said, floating through the window.

"So… How was your day?" I asked. What do ghosts do all day?

"Boring," he replied.

"Oh," I said. An awkward silence fell over us. Finally, I forced myself to say something else, "So, do you want to have a seat?" I gestured toward my bed. "Or is it easier for you to stand?"

"Uh…sitting sounds good," he said, walking to my bed. He sat carefully on the edge, and I sat in the middle, next to my pillows. We were about three feet apart.

"How does that work?" I couldn't help but blurt out. I hoped the verbal diarrhea wasn't back.

"What do you mean?" he asked.

"Never mind, I think you told me yesterday—intangibility," I said, feeling stupid.

"Oh, yeah. Expecting me to fall through your floor or something?" he smiled, and the weirdest thought entered my mind: he was kind of cute. In a ghostly way. I pushed the thought away almost as quickly as it had appeared.

"I guess so…" I said. "So what else can you do?"

"Oh, um…" he stuttered.

"You don't have to tell me—I mean, if…" I began. "It's just I've never been…" Was I always this bad at conversations?

"Uh, I can fly, make myself invisible, and possess people. Oh, and I can shoot ectoplasm out of my hands…and a few other things," he said.

"That sounds…interesting," I said. "Is flying fun?"

"Yeah," he replied, sounding more confident. "It's _really_ fun."

"It sounds like it would be," I said. "I've only ever flown in planes."

"Yeah," he replied. We sat in silence again, until finally, he spoke, "You look good today."

"Gee, thanks. A dead person thinks I look good," I said sarcastically. Then I realized what I said and wanted to take it back. "Sorry."

"No, it's okay," he said, wrinkling his forehead. "I guess…I guess I am dead."

"Why do you stay in Amity Park?" I asked. "Why don't you travel around and see the world or something? Or stay in that…Ghost Zone you mentioned yesterday?"

"I don't know, I guess I just live here. And the Ghost Zone isn't really somewhere you want to stay for long if you can help it," he said.

"Why not?" I asked. He looked dumbfounded by the question, but finally answered it.

"Well…most ghosts are kind of mean," he replied.

"So you are Casper the friendly ghost?" I asked again, jokingly.

"Whatever," he replied. "Is it my turn to ask some questions yet?"

"What kind of questions could you have?" I asked.

"Why do you stay in your room all the time, for real?" he asked.

"I told you, I don't like it here," I said.

"Yeah, but how does staying in here help?"

"I'm hoping that some day my parents might get the message that I'm not happy and let me move back to Virginia. I could stay with my grandma or my best fr…" I cut off. The thought of Mac made me stop. I didn't exactly have a best friend anymore, did I?

"Best friend?" he filled in.

"I could stay with my grandma," I repeated. "She's awesome."

"Why not your best friend?" he asked, pushing the subject.

"None of your business," I snapped, feeling defensive. Then something in me clicked, and before I could shut my mouth, my next question popped out, "How do you deal with not being around your best friend anymore?"

"Huh?" he asked.

"You did have one, didn't you?" I asked.

"Yeah…" he said.

"So how did you deal with not being around him after you…died?" I asked.

* * *

_Danny's POV_

I was sitting stiffly on the end of Sam's bed, trying to figure out exactly how to answer the question she'd just asked me. Thankfully, an idea formed in my mind, and after a minute I began talking, hoping that I wasn't digging myself into a hole I couldn't get out of.

"I-I still hang out with my best friend," I admitted.

"You do?" she asked, looking puzzled.

"Yeah," I replied. "Usually at his house."

"Oh. So other people _can_ see you?" she asked, beginning to look a bit angry. Why was she getting mad? Had I ever said that other people couldn't see me?

"Yeah," I said again. "Unless I make myself invisible."

"So you were invisible when you were spying on me?" she snapped. I nodded, looking down as she yelled. "You didn't come inside, did you?"

"Just once," I said quickly, deciding to be as honest as I could. "But…"

"But nothing," she yelled, lurching across the bed as if to punch me. I quickly made most of myself intangible and watched as her arm passed through my stomach. Why the sudden spurt of anger?

"I really am sorry," I said. Hadn't we been through this yesterday?

"Get out," she said, looking uncomfortably at her arm.

"What? I was just worried about you, and it was raining that day…" I started, but she cut me off.

"Why are you so worried about me? You keep saying that, but it doesn't make any sense," she said. Her voice was still angry, but her eyes had softened a bit. I was so confused my head was practically spinning.

"Like I said, you never…"

"…leave my room," she finished my sentence. "I know, but what else? Most people wouldn't think someone has something terribly wrong with them just because of that."

"Well, you just don't look well," I said again.

"And by that you mean…what?" she asked.

"Oh come on, you're just going to get mad again," I replied.

"No I won't," she said. "Tell me."

"I don't know. You have…raccoon eyes, as my sister used to call them," I admitted. "And you always look kind of depressed, but I guess now I know why you're not exactly happy. Plus you're always wearing black, like…"

Sam cut me off with a sudden burst of laugher. I wasn't sure if it was real or not, but it kind of made me angry.

"Why are you laughing?" I asked.

"Haven't you ever seen a Goth before?" she asked.

"Oh," I said, feeling kind of stupid. I'd heard of Gothic people before, thanks to cable TV, but I'd never actually seen someone who dressed that way in real life. "Yeah. I just didn't…"

"And my eyes—I don't know, I guess I just haven't been sleeping so well lately," she said. "On one hand I feel like I've been sleeping a lot lately, but on the other I feel like I hardly get any sleep at all. It's kind of hard sitting in bed all day long doing nothing and then expecting to sleep deeply at night."

"Oh," I replied, feeling stupid.

"Feel better now?" she asked sarcastically.

"I guess so. Sorry," I said again.

"Whatever," she said. A full minute passed before she spoke again, "You mentioned that you had a sister. Do you still visit her too?"

"No," I said. That at least was true—Danny Phantom did not visit Jazz. She had no idea about my ghost half.

"Just your best friend?" she clarified.

"Yeah," I replied. "And now you."

"What did your best friend say the first time you showed up…like that?" she asked, gesturing at me.

"He was there when it happened," I said, knowing that it would make it her uncomfortable and almost feeling happy about it. She'd certainly made me feel uncomfortable enough over the last hour! It was time for some revenge.

"Oh," she said, her voice shaking. "It would be awful to be there when your best friend…"

"It really wasn't so bad," I said, instantly feeling guilty.

"What happened…if you don't mind telling me?" she asked. And that's where I got stuck. What should I tell her? My heart began racing as I tried to come up with some kind of story. I could make myself a hero—maybe I'd died saving a baby from a burning building! Maybe I'd stepped in front of a speeding train to push a little old lady out of the way! Then I remembered that I wanted to keep my story as close to the truth as possible and reigned in my imagination.

"Lab accident," I said, gesturing to my hazmat suit.

"At school?" she asked, looking alarmed.

"No, at home. My parents…" I paused, deciding what to say, "…are scientists. Tucker and I were messing around in their lab one day and I pushed a button that I should have stayed away from."

"Oh," she said, crinkling her eyebrows.

"Yeah. I guess it wasn't wired right—electricity or something…" I trailed off, trying to be vague. "It only hurt for a few seconds."

"Ugh," she frowned. "That's terrible. Your poor parents…"

"Well, no. It wasn't their fault," I said. "I knew better than to be messing around with their stuff."

"Maybe, but you know they have to have a lot of guilt over that," she said.

"Nah, my parents are totally fine. It's almost like they don't even know it happened," I said truthfully, trying to make her feel better. Unfortunately, it seemed to have the opposite effect.

"That's awful! My parents are jerks, but if I died, I'm pretty sure they'd at least be upset about it," she said, eyes full of pity for me. I didn't know what to say, so I just shrugged and sent a silent apology out to my parents for making them look bad.

"Well," I finally said, feeling like a horrible person, "I guess some people just react differently."

"Danny?" she said.

"Yeah?" I asked.

"I'm sorry," she whispered, and the next thing I new she had her arms around me in an awkward hug that I just couldn't bring myself to return.

"It's okay," I said, feeling even worse. She hadn't really hit me as the hugging type. After a minute she let go and sat back, her cheeks slightly red.

"Um…" she trailed off.

"Sam?" I asked, suddenly struck by a brilliant idea that I thought might help make things better. I only hoped Tucker would play along.

"What?"

"Do you want to go to the Nasty Burger on Saturday?" I asked.

"The Nasty Burger? What's that?" she asked, almost looking interested. "Is it in the Ghost Zone?"

"No," I said. "It's a restaurant in town."

"How can you go there?" she asked. "I thought you said you only talk to your best fr…, uh Tucker and me."

"I do… I was actually thinking maybe you could meet Tucker. I could have him meet you there and I could show up too. I'd have to stay invisible, but if we go late when it's not crowded, I might be able to talk a little bit," I said. Not to mention the fact that going late would help prevent us from running into anyone from school. If they saw Tucker hanging out with a girl they didn't recognize—well, there were enough rumors about Sam as it was. Thankfully they had started dying down a little bit after it sank in that she was probably never going to come to school.

"I don't know. I really don't want to give in and leave my room," she said.

"I don't think it's doing you any good to stay in here," I said. "It's been almost two months and your parents haven't even mentioned letting you move back, have they?"

"Well, no, but…" she began.

"And you're bored crazy and having sleep problems, right?" I asked.

"So?" she asked.

"You need to get out. Are your parents even going to be home on Saturday?" I asked.

"Probably not," she admitted.

"Well, there you go. You can come with us, and they'll never even know you were gone," I said triumphantly.

"Let me think about it. Can I tell you tomorrow?" she asked.

"Sure," I said. "I'm so glad tomorrow's Friday." She nodded, but then suddenly frowned.

"What kind of food does the Nasty Burger have?" she asked.

"Uh, hamburgers, hot dogs, that kind of stuff," I replied.

"Do they have a veggie burger or anything?" she asked.

"I don't think so, but I've never really looked for one. Why?" I asked.

"I'm a vegetarian," she said. "An ultra-recyclo vegetarian."

"Oh," I replied. "Well they might have one, but if not I'm sure they'd be willing to make you a salad or something."

"Okay," she replied. "I'll definitely think about it then."

"Good. Though if you mention being a vegetarian to Tucker, he'll probably have a heart attack," I joked.

"Why?" she asked.

"He's a meat-a-holic. As far as he's concerned that's the _only_ food group there is," I replied.

"Ugh. We're probably not going to get along very well then," she said.

"You never know," I said.

"Sure," she said sarcastically, but she smiled.

"Well, I guess I should be going now," I said, standing up.

"Okay," she replied. "See you tomorrow, right?"

"Yeah. Remember to think about the Nasty Burger," I said.

"I will. Bye Danny," she said.

"Bye Sam," I said, walking to the window and flying out.

I smiled all the way home. I felt good about getting to know Sam. She seemed like she could really use some friends, so I hoped my plan would work. I just hoped that Tucker would be willing to participate and Sam would agree to go too.

* * *

Please review! I decided to try and get things moving a little faster this chapter. Have a happy Thanksgiving next week to those readers who celebrate it! And thanks for all the reviews so far! :)


	6. Chapter 6

Hi and welcome to the next chapter! Sorry for the delay in updating…I was busy during the holiday season and didn't have any time to write, then I discovered the TV show Doctor Who and was distracted for an awfully long time reading fics over in that section, then I was struck with an idea for a fic in another of my fandoms and had to get it out of my system…and then I finally decided to sit myself down and force myself to write some more of this! Otherwise there probably wouldn't have been another chapter for a decade or two. :-)

Thanks again to all of my reviewers! I appreciate your comments and feedback.

Disclaimer: I don't own Danny Phantom or anything else you recognize.

* * *

_Friday afternoon (Danny's POV)_

"No," Tucker said. "I don't think so."

"Come on, it won't hurt. Just once," I pleaded. We were walking to his house after school, and I was trying my best to convince him to agree to my plan of meeting Sam at the Nasty Burger.

"Just once…ha! Once will turn into twice, and twice will turn into, uh…thrice. Is that even a real word?" he asked.

"Dunno," I shrugged.

"Anyway, you're getting too obsessed with this girl. Almost as bad as you were over Paulina last year. What's wrong with you?" he asked.

"I've already told you, Tuck, I don't know. I'm just worried about her. She's so lonely and she seems nice. I think having a few friends could help her. She's a vegetarian, but I think you guys will like each other anyway," I said.

"Oh great, a vegetarian," he said sarcastically.

"Yeah, but…she likes video games," I blurted, hoping to hook him. It was true—I had seen her playing games from time to time. "And a lot of the same sci-fi movies as you."

"I don't know. I've never even met her before, how am I supposed to sit there and talk to her by myself for an hour or two?" he asked.

"You won't be by yourself. I'll be there…I'll just be invisible," I reminded him.

"I don't know, I still think it's a bad idea," Tucker replied.

"If you come, I'll do all of your homework for a month!" I announced, feeling desperate and half-hoping he'd refuse my offer. A whole month's worth of double homework would be almost unbearable.

"Deal," he replied immediately, a smug smile on his face.

"Gee, thanks Tuck," I said. "Way to hold out for the bribe."

"Hey, I know a good deal when I see one," he said.

"Great. Now I've got to go make sure she's coming."

"You didn't even ask her first?" he asked.

"I asked, but she wanted to think about it," I replied.

"Oh," he said.

"Yeah. Well, I'll catch up with you later," I said, before going ghost and heading off to see Sam.

* * *

_Saturday evening (Sam's POV)_

The doorbell rang and I looked out my window. A young black boy wearing green cargo pants and a strange red hat was standing at my door. He was tapping away at a cell phone in his hand, probably texting. Thanks to Danny's description the day before, I knew it had to be Tucker.

I took a deep breath, walked downstairs into the foyer, and prepared myself to set foot outside for the first time in nearly two months. I still couldn't believe I had agreed to go to dinner with Danny and Tucker. Half of me felt like I was giving up on going back to Virginia, the other half of me was overjoyed at the prospect of getting out of my stuffy room for a while. I reached out and opened the door.

"Hi, you must be Sam," the boy said, glancing up from his phone.

"Yeah," I replied. "That's me."

"I'm Tucker," he said. He looked nice enough, and his tone was kind.

"Hi," I said.

"Hi," he said again. We both laughed, and then he continued. "I know we were supposed to go to the Nasty Burger, but apparently the cheerleading squad rented it out for the night, and as much as I'd like to be there for that, Danny thought it'd be better if we went on a picnic instead, over near the lake," he blurted in one breath.

"Oh, okay," I agreed. I'd liked the look of the lake when I saw it on our tour before we had moved. It might be neat to see it up close. "Where is Danny, by the way?"

"Already over there," Tucker replied. "He's getting stuff ready."

"Oh. Do I need to bring any food or anything like that?" I asked.

"No, we've got it taken care of," he replied.

"Okay," I said.

We began walking in silence, heading away from my house and through the neighborhood. It felt so strange to be out of my room, part of me wondered if I were just imagining it.

After about ten minutes, we came upon the lake. It was just as eerily awesome as I had remembered it to be, a fog-enshrouded lake surrounded by big weeping willows. Tucker led me around the side of it, into a denser grove of trees.

"Here we go," Tucker said, as we came upon an old picnic table. There was a big wicker picnic basked sitting on it, and a stack of paper plates and cups. Danny was sitting at the table, a big grin on his face.

"Hi Sam," he said as we approached. "Hey Tuck."

"Hi," we replied at the same time.

"Look at that, talking in unison already. I knew you guys would be friends!" he said.

"Well…" Tucker began, but then stopped. I laughed. We really hadn't known each other long enough say we were friends, but he seemed okay so far.

"Have a seat," Danny gestured to the table. Tucker and I sat down, him next to Danny and me on the other side. "I hope you don't mind that we didn't go to the Nasty Burger, but it was going to be crowded, and I didn't really..."

"No, I don't mind at all," I replied. "The last thing I want to do is watch a bunch of stupid cheerleaders strut around. Besides, this lake is pretty cool."

"Yeah, it's one of my favorite places to hang out," he replied. Then a few seconds later, he said, "It's good seeing you out of your house."

"It actually feels pretty good to be out," I replied, smiling. Our eyes met, and I was struck again by how cute he was.

"Well, I don't know about you guys, but I'm hungry!" Tucker suddenly announced, opening up the picnic basket and effectively changing the subject. He began pulling sandwiches out.

"We didn't know what you liked, so there are a few different kinds," Danny shrugged.

"Oh, okay," I replied. "Thanks."

"One peanut butter, one grilled cheese, and one tomato and lettuce for you," Tucker sat a few sandwiches in front of me. "One salami, one ham, and two BLTs for me!"

"We also brought some water and sodas," Danny said, gesturing to the basket. "And some chips."

"Thanks. I could have brought something too, if I'd know we were doing this," I said, as I began to unwrap the peanut butter sandwich.

"Don't worry about it," Tucker said, and I wondered if he had made them all himself. I took a bite of my sandwich, and then realized that Danny was just sitting there while we ate. Of course ghosts don't eat!

"You don't mind us eating in front of you, do you?" I asked, suddenly feeling bad.

"Not at all," he replied. "Go ahead. I'm not even hungry." That made me feel a lot better, at least he wasn't perpetually starving or something awful like that.

The picnic was really nice. By the end of it, the three of us were talking and laughing like a group of longtime friends. I felt better than I ever had since moving to Amity Park, almost as happy as I'd been back in Virginia.

As we were cleaning up, I came to a startling realization: I didn't want to go home, didn't want to go back to hiding out in my room. I wanted to hang out with Danny and Tucker some more. I couldn't do that, of course; it wouldn't be good for me to start spending more time outside. If I ever wanted to go back home I had to stay strong and hold out. I couldn't risk my parents finding out that I'd already started giving in.

Tucker left first, saying he wanted to get started on new computer game that he'd bought. He took the picnic basket with him, confirming my earlier suspicion. After he had gone, Danny turned to me.

"Thanks a lot for coming, Sam," he said.

"Thanks for inviting me," I replied, smiling.

"So what did you think of Tucker?" he asked.

"He seems pretty nice," I replied truthfully. "Not as hung up on the whole vegetarian thing as I had expected him to be. I don't even think he mentioned it once."

"Yeah, well I kind of told him not to," Danny laughed.

"Oh," I replied, laughing as well. "I guess that explains it."

"Yeah, but I'm happy you liked him. I think he liked you too," he said.

"I'm glad," I replied.

"Well, I guess we should go now. How would you like to fly home?" he asked, smiling.

"How would that work?" I asked.

"Like this," Danny replied, and before I knew what was happening, he took one of my hands in his. A sudden warmth shot through my body and then just as quickly a chill, as if a strong breeze had picked up.

"What was that about?" I asked, admittedly a little freaked out.

"Look," Danny said, pulling my hand up with his. My arm was transparent, like his. I couldn't keep myself from looking down at the rest of me, and was surprised to see that my body was ghostly-looking too.

"That's kind of freaky," I said, unable to keep the slight tremor out of my voice. Danny let go of my hand and I instantly returned to normal.

"Sorry," he said. "I didn't mean to scare you."

"You didn't scare me, I just wasn't expecting that," I said. "Do it again." I held my hand out to him, and when he took it the cold feeling came back. I swallowed and smiled my best reassuring smile at him.

"So, do you want to fly?" he asked again.

"Okay," I agreed, still not quite sure what was going to happen.

"All right, here we go," he said. My stomach dropped a little as we took off, him dragging me into the air next to him.

"This is…awesome!" I said as we got higher and evened out. We could see for miles in every direction; a shopping plaza off to the left, what appeared to be a school on the other side of the lake, a cathedral-like church, several neighborhoods, and lots of roads and fields. The lake's surface shone like diamonds from our vantage point, reflecting the weak beams of the setting sun.

We flew in near silence until we got back to my house. Danny phased us through my wall and sat me down on the floor before letting go of my hand.

"That was really cool," I said, knowing that I had to be grinning like an idiot. "It must be awesome to be able to fly around wherever you want."

"Yeah it usually is," he said, smiling back at me.

"Thank you," I said, "for the picnic and, um, flight."

"You're welcome. We should do that again sometime," he said.

"Ye—I, um, hmm…maybe," I muttered, still not quite ready to give up on going home, no matter how much fun I'd had.

"Okay," he said, accepting my half-answer. "Well, it's starting to get late, so I'd better get going."

"All right," I said. "See you tomorrow Danny."

"Tomorrow," he agreed, before flying back through my wall and into the sky. As he left, the strangest feeling came over me. I'd been alone nearly every day since I'd moved to Amity Park, but I'd never felt quite as lonely as I did watching the ghost boy leave.

* * *

Well, I hope this chapter was okay. I had a really hard time getting back into this fic after not working on it at all in a few months, and I don't really think this chapter is quite up to par with the earlier ones. I'm trying to work towards ending this pretty soon (there will probably only be 2-3 more chapters), but at the same time I really don't want to rush things too much. Anyway, I'll try to have another chapter up in a week or two.

Please review and let me know what you think. Thanks!


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